Eatery - Gino's East (IL)

By suggestion of my blogger friend at Eating My Way Through OC, I decided to head over to Gino's East to get my first taste of authentic Chicago-style deep dish pizza. It sure was pricier than I was accustomed to for pizza (yay being spoiled by fast food pizza chains!) but I can see why. A tourist trap? Perhaps but still a fun delving into Chicago culture!

The first thing I noticed was the decor. The walls, chairs, booths, and everything were covered in writing! Apparently people bring white-out or markers to the restaurant to leave their names/messages/whatever anywhere (except the bathrooms - there's even a sign that says it's forbidden). It COULD have easily turned into something really tacky but actually, I liked it. It gave the restaurant some personality.

Anywho, our waitress told us deep dish pizzas would take approximately 45 minutes to finish baking so suggested an appetizer. We ordered the mozzarella sticks which were probably some of the crunchiest I've had. I hate mozzarella sticks that get soggy or have sad amounts of cheese inside but these ones were nicely crunchy and not too salty. The cheese had cooled a tad by the time we ate it so it wasn't as oozy as it was when we first got it at the table (blame my taking of pictures) but still good. I liked the marinara sauce that came with it too. Thumbs up.

When our pizza came, it was glorious. We had ordered a medium-sized Gino's East Supreme which came with sausage, pepperoni, green bell peppers, and mushrooms. I bet we could've been completely fine had we just gotten the small size because we only had one slice each before calling it quits. When I saw it, I was surprised that it was so red and brown - where were my veggies? Regardless, amazing! The heavy crust was so good as a bread itself that I could've eaten that alone. It tasted rich and probably had more oil or butter in it than I would like to think about. The meats were generous and good pieces, definitely not some cheap cuts. I liked that the sausage chunks weren't all uniform like you sometimes find on mainstream pizzas. My friend confirmed that you never eat a deep dish pizza with your hands because it's just nearly impossible. Agreed! I dug in with fork and knife, feeling heavy with every bite. I never thought I could get full off of one slice of pizza before!

Of course, before we left, we had to ask the waitress how we could leave our mark on the walls. She said that people just bring in their own white-out; we looked at her with dismay. Then, being as awesome as she was, Jessica whispered that she'd get us a Sharpie poster paint marker when she could. Once she slipped it to us, I immediately thought that I'd love to take up some prime wall real estate with love from my blog. I found a nice booth bottom on which to write out "Much <3 from us --> www.muchadoaboutfooding.com" and signed with my name and date. Take that Chicago! Remember me for I will remember you!